


The Song Remains the Same

by summers-maclay-lehane (ofstormsandwolves)



Series: Ripper and Anne [3]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Developing Friendships, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-20 16:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21059606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstormsandwolves/pseuds/summers-maclay-lehane
Summary: Buffy and Ripper relocate to the nearest Hellmouth. Setting up their new life in Sunnydale, their lives begin to change even more than they already have.





	The Song Remains the Same

**Author's Note:**

> I took liberties with Giles's apartment layout in canon but hey. I've changed character ages, character histories, character dynamics, why not add an extra bedroom to the apartment?

“It’s a bloody ghost town,” Ripper grumbled as he took in the sights.

Buffy fixed him with an amused smile. “Well it _is_ a Hellmouth,” she responded cheekily.

Ripper rolled his eyes at her joke, and hauled his rucksack onto his shoulder. Getting to the nearest Hellmouth had been almost laughably easy in the end. A two-hour bus journey from Los Angeles to the town of Sunnydale and they’d reached their destination.

“Now,” Buffy was saying next to him, ignoring the way Ripper was squinting in the blazing sun, “first thing we need to do is find a place to stay.” She paused, then looked up at him. “How long were we thinking of staying?”

Ripper shrugged at that. “I dunno,” he grumbled, “you’re the Slayer. I’m not even a bleedin’ Watcher. I keep telling you that, but you won’t listen.”

“Maybe I’m just tuning out all your grumbling,” Buffy retorted, smiling sweetly.

Before Ripper could form a response, she had grabbed the handle of her bright pink suitcase and was dragging it along the sidewalk. 

“Did you want to try a motel or something?” she called over her shoulder. “Or should we be looking at a rolling lease? I mean, I can’t see them having particularly nice hotels here.”

With a sigh, Ripper picked up his guitar case and followed the Slayer down the street. She looked ridiculous, he decided, with her oversized pink suitcase and her massive backpack jammed full of stuff. God knew what she had brought with her. Her apartment had been tiny and rat-infested, and she’d seemed to leave most of the stuff from her parents’ house where it stood. 

Buffy glanced over her shoulder at him and scowled. “Hurry up! It’ll get dark soon, and I want somewhere to live before a vamp thinks we’ll make a tasty snack.”

* * *

It turned out there was a lot of real estate standing empty on the Hellmouth. While neither Ripper nor Buffy had a lot of money on them, apparently people were so desperate to lease their properties that they could get a reasonably good deal on a two-bed Spanish-style ground floor apartment with mezzanine. It wasn’t really to either of their tastes, but considering they didn’t know how long they were staying and it was a good price, they agreed to take it.

The apartment came with a sparse amount of furniture, but it was enough to get them by.

“At least it’s better than a motel,” Buffy said cheerfully as Ripper eyes the threadbare sofa with disdain. “And there’s enough room we won’t be tripping over each other.”

Ripper just stared at her. Buffy pointedly ignored his look.

“Now,” she continued as her rucksack thumped to the floor, “who’s taking which bedroom?”

Ripper scoffed. “Well if you think I’m taking that stupid little box room you’ve got another thing coming.”

Buffy frowned at that. “Hey! Why do you get the big room? All your stuff fits in one backpack!”

“But it’s my name on the lease!” Ripper argued back.

She snorted at that. “Yeah, it is,” she agreed. “_Rupert_.”

Ripper growled. “You said you wouldn’t listen!”

“Hello? Slayer here! I couldn’t help it,” Buffy responded indignantly. “Though I get now why you don’t tell people your name.”

“Alright, _Buffy_,” Ripper retorted. “Like your name’s much better!”

Buffy huffed at that. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Can I take the bedroom upstairs or not?”

Ripper glared. “Not.”

The teenager clenched her jaw at that, and for a brief moment he wondered if she was about to throw a tantrum. But instead, she turned and grabbed her suitcase and her backpack, and stomped angrily to the box room down the corridor.

* * *

If there was one thing Ripper hadn’t realised, it was how much of a pain it could be to share an apartment with a teenage girl. Having sulked all through dinner- takeout, naturally- Buffy had then relocated to sulk in her bedroom the rest of the night. They had agreed that she wouldn’t go patrolling until they’d had the chance to explore the town in the sunlight, but she was still up earlier than Ripper the next day.

She had been in the shower when he’d come downstairs, and he busied himself with making breakfast. Glad he’d had the foresight to at least run to the shop for some food, Ripper set about making toast in the temperamental toaster. It was only as he pulled the slices from the machine and moved to grab the jam that he realised there was a flaw.  
They had no plates. And no cutlery. 

Come to think of it, they had no glassware either.

Last night’s takeout had been Chinese, and had arrived in cardboard containers with chopsticks, while they’d drunk soda from cans with the meal. Ripper had tried to be the responsible adult of the situation when he’d gone to the store, and he’d bought juice and milk, as well as bread and jam for breakfast. Only they had nothing to drink the milk or juice from, and nothing to put the bread on, and nothing to spread the jam with.

And to top it all off, Buffy was still in the shower and Ripper really needed to use the toilet.

Swearing under his breath as he headed for the bathroom door, Ripper could already tell it wouldn’t be a good day.

“Oi,” he yelled through the door as he hammered on it with a fist. “Open up!”

He heard movement, the slight change in the sound of the shower suggesting Buffy had stepped out from under the spray. Thank god, she was coming out.

But a few moments later, and the sound of the spray changed again. She was still in there.

“_Buffy_,” Ripper growled. “Get out the shower!”

“Why?” came Buffy’s annoyed response.

“Because!” Ripper huffed. “Because you’re not the only one who needs to use the bathroom!”

He heard her huff, and braced himself for another argument. But abruptly the shower was switched off, and after a minute or so of movement, there was a click of a lock and the door was flung open. Buffy was glaring up at him, one towel wrapped round her body and another round her hair. 

“It’s all yours,” she huffed as she pushed past him to her bedroom door. “Geez, it’s not like the world’s ending,” she muttered under her breath.

Ignoring her comment, Ripper barrelled into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

When he emerged from the bathroom a minute or so later, he found Buffy in the middle of the kitchen, clad in an oversized yellow t-shirt bearing the name ‘Hemery High Eagles’ and a towel still wrapped round her hair.

“Why is the toast sitting on the side?” she asked with a frown at the offending food item.

Ripper sighed. “Because we don’t have any plates and I wasn’t about to take it to the bathroom with me.”

Buffy blinked at him. “We don’t have any plates?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. “We’re gonna get crumbs everywhere.”

“There’s also no cutlery to spread the jam with and no cups or glasses to drink drinks out of,” Ripper told her.

The teenager was staring at him in horror at that. “Well, we need to fix it!” she told him seriously. “You might not be fussed about crumbs getting everywhere, but I am!”

Ripper scowled. “Oi. I never said I was happy about it, I was just saying we don’t have any sodding plates!” Sensing they were escalating towards another argument, Ripper took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Look,” he said after a moment, voice quieter than before, “we’re obviously going to have to go shopping. You can either stay here and stare at the toast, or you can come with me to find what we need.”

Buffy pouted a little as she considered her choices. “Fine,” she grumbled after a moment. “But I need time to dry my hair.”

* * *

It turned out that Sunnydale’s main street, Maple Court, was woefully lacking in shopping opportunities. While boasting a movie theatre, two magic shops, and a handful of clothing stores, what it didn’t seem to have was any form of supermarket.

“Well, they have to eat,” Ripper grumbled once they’d walked the length of the street for a third time. “People are buying food from somewhere.”

“But not here,” Buffy concluded with a frown. 

Spotting a gaggle of girls around her age, Buffy straightened and approached them.

“- that was when Mrs Barton _finally_ did something about it,” one girl was saying loudly. “I mean, geez, talk about slow on the uptake-”

“Hi,” Buffy interrupted as she stepped in front of the girls. “We were wondering if you could help us?”

The brunette girl who’d been talking raised her eyebrows at that, and the handful of girls gathered around her sniggered and gave Buffy incredulous looks.

“And why would I help you?” the girl asked with a smirk.

Buffy tilted her head to one side, eyed the girl’s handbag. “Nice bag. Prada?”

The girl blinked at her. “Yeah,” she said with a small frown. “My dad brought it back from a business meeting in Los Angeles.”

Buffy nodded. “I’ve just moved from there. Me and my-” she turned to look over her shoulder at a bewildered Ripper. “Cousin. We were wondering if you could recommend some good stores to pick up some new kitchenware.”

The girl and her friends were all blinking in confusion. Looking from Buffy, to Ripper, and back again as they looked like they were trying to figure out the catch.

Finally, the lead girl found her voice. “Why would I possibly know where to buy kitchenware?” she asked, sounding offended at the very thought. 

“There’s a good shop just off fifth,” a blonde piped up from just behind her. “I think they’ve got a sale on!”

“_Harmony_!” the brunette snapped, throwing an annoyed look at her friend.

Harmony grimaced. “Sorry, Cordy.”

Cordy turned back to Buffy with an arched eyebrow. “If you’ve finished wasting my time,” she sneered, “we’ll be on our way.”

And before Buffy could say anything, Cordy had strutted off down the sidewalk, her gaggle of friends hurrying after her.

* * *

While Cordy hadn’t been any help it all, it seemed her friend Harmony had at least been useful in her recommendations. Finally locating the store that could sell them the plates, bowls, glasses, mugs, and cutlery they needed, Ripper and Buffy set about filling a shopping trolley with the items they needed.

Of course, it was only when they got to the checkout that they realised it was going to be tricky getting everything back to the apartment.

“We’ll just have to be really careful,” Buffy said, though she didn’t seem too convinced.

The checkout assistant wasn’t particularly helpful, either. The spotty teen merely scanned all their purchases and gave the amount in a monotone voice. If he was confused by Ripper and Buffy, he didn’t let on. Ripper supposed that living on the Hellmouth meant the boy had seen more unusual things than a British bloke and a Los Angeles teen shopping for an inordinate amount of kitchenware.

When they left the shop, their new plates and cutlery double-bagged in brown bags at Ripper’s insistence, they began to slowly make their way back to the apartment.

“There’s not much to do here,” Buffy stated as she wrinkled her nose at the meagre entertainment offerings at the movie theatre.

Ripper snorted. “It’s a Hellmouth. There’s probably so many vampires that need slaying here that we’ll hardly have time for a bleeding social life.”

Buffy frowned up at him. “Do you think so?” she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

He looked at her, brow furrowing. “Yeah.” He came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. “Look, I thought that’s why we came here. You wanted to slay somewhere that wasn’t L.A.”

The blonde pouted at that. “Well yeah,” she acknowledged slowly. “But I wouldn’t say no to a bit of a social life. The occasional trip to see a movie, or the chance to go dancing, or something.” She sighed. “I suppose it’s not like I have anyone to go with.”

Ripper frowned at that, but before he could formulate a response, Buffy was off along the sidewalk again.

* * *

“I might apply for a job,” Ripper announced out of the blue several days after they arrived in Sunnydale.

Buffy blinked up at him from over the top of her gossip magazine. “Ok,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “But why are you telling me?”

“Because,” Ripper told her with a frustrated sigh, “if I’m going to be working all day, what will you be doing?”

With a frown, Buffy shrugged. “Training. Watching telly. Going for a walk. I don’t need a babysitter, Ripper.”

“I know,” he responded, taking a seat beside her on the threadbare sofa. “But you mentioned the other day about wanting a social life. Did you, maybe, want to go back to school, or something?”

Buffy stared at him for a long while. “Why?” she asked eventually. “We all know I’m not going to need qualifications anyway. I’m going to die young, why waste time in a classroom?”

Something about her tone bothered Ripper. She didn’t sound angry, or frustrated, or even relieved. She just sounded... Tired. Forlorn. This was clearly something she had accepted some time ago, and part of Ripper wanted to pull her in for a hug.

“I just thought you might want to consider it,” Ripper shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. “It’d be a chance to get out the house for something other than slaying, that’s all.”

Buffy shrugged, and went back to her magazine. _God_, Ripper thought, _what the hell is this kid doing to me? Why do I care what she does? I’m not her Watcher..._

“I’ll think about it,” Buffy said suddenly, voice quiet and gaze still trained on her magazine.

Ripper couldn’t help the small smile that tugged on his lips.

* * *

Their first Friday night in Sunnydale, the pair of them headed out. Ripper had overheard some local teens talking about the local nightclub, the Bronze, and he was certain it was the perfect hunting ground for vamps. Drunk teens, dark rooms, loud music to hide the screams... 

So he and Buffy got dressed up and headed for the nightclub to scope things out. As the stood in the queue, Buffy was practically vibrating beside him, and Ripper had to suppress a smile. The more she settled into their new life, the more he was seeing the glimpses of the teenager she probably used to be. No longer burdened with trying to make her way in the world alone, Buffy now had time to be a little more of a normal teenager, even if she was still the Slayer.

Ripper paid the cover charge and the pair of them slipped inside. The music pulled them in like a tidal wave, and it was obvious the place was packed with the town’s teens. It wasn’t surprising, really, given the woeful lack of entertainment in Sunnydale. Already, Buffy was scanning the crowd, but Ripper couldn’t be sure if it was because she was looking for vampires or just looking around.

“You alright?” Ripper asked, voice just about audible over the music.

Buffy glanced up at him with a smile and nodded. She nodded towards the dance floor, and he responded with a glare. Flashing him another smile, she slipped through the crowd and disappeared among dancing teens. Ripper huffed out a sigh and decided to take a wander instead. Scope out the perimeter, as it were. He wasn’t trained to hunt vampires, of course, but he was still a born Watcher. No matter how much he loathed it, he had a certain natural skill for the supernatural, and he might as well put it to some use to help Buffy.

As he made his way around the club, he occasionally caught sight of Buffy on the dance floor. Her blonde hair loose around her shoulders as she moved to the music, Ripper couldn’t help but wonder how she could actually spot any vampires with her hair in her eyes. There was a boy trying to dance with her, dark-haired and a little shorter than Ripper, and he couldn’t help but scoff at the boy’s expression. Clearly he was infatuated with Buffy, or at least the way she looked, and Ripper shook his head at the poor sod. He wondered if Buffy knew about the dark-haired boy. Was she ignoring him? Was she perfectly fine with him watching her? Or was her hair so in her face that she had no idea the boy was even staring at her?

But before Ripper could wonder about that any further, he caught sight of a redheaded girl about Buffy’s age struggling against a blonde-haired, broad-shouldered man. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but something about him set his teeth on edge. One glance at security told him they’d be of no help, so instead Ripper began elbowing his way through the crowd. As he got closer he could hear the man’s words.

“-for a bit, eh, babe?”

“N-No!” the redhead protested, struggling in the man’s grasp.

“Oh come on, doll. Don’t be like that. Why don’t you and me go somewhere a little quieter?”

“Get off me!” the girl protested, but even as she struggled the blonde man was hauling her towards a fire exit.

Growling, Ripper shoved his way through the last few layers of oblivious teens, and followed the blonde man and redheaded girl out into the alley.

* * *

“Come on, honey,” the man sneered, pushing the redhead up against the wall just as Ripper stumbled into the alley. “Just a quick bite.”

And then the man’s face morphed into that of a vampire, and Ripper launched himself at him.

“Get off her, you ponce!” Ripper yelled as he pulled his stake from his pocket. 

Both he and the vampire tumbled onto the ground, and briefly he had the upper hand before the vampire flipped them. There was a bit of a skirmish, and then suddenly the vamp was being hauled off him by an irate-looking Buffy.

“The first time I’ve been able to relax since being here,” she told the vamp as she punched him in the stomach, “and you come along to ruin my night!” A punch to the face. “All I ask-” dodge a blow, kick to the ribs “-is one-” punch “night-” punch “of-” punch “dancing!” And then her stake plunged into the vamp’s chest and he melted into dust.

Letting out a breath and pushing her hair out of her face, Buffy took a moment before turning to fix Ripper with a stare. “We weren’t even here for five minutes before you got yourself in trouble.”

“Me?” Ripper glared, pushing himself to his feet. “I was busy doing your bleeding job! You were too busy dancing with some ponce to see what was going on around you!”

“Hey!” came an offended voice, and Ripper looked around to see that the boy Buffy had been dancing with had apparently followed her out to the alley, and had his arm protectively around the redhead.

“Oh, just clear off,” Ripper grumbled. “You didn’t see anything, am I clear?”

“That... That guy turned into dust,” the redhead stammered with wide green eyes. She looked at Buffy in confusion. “You made him disappear.”

Buffy shifted uncomfortably, glancing towards Ripper. “Uh, maybe you’re concussed...”

“No,” the boy insisted with a shake of his head. “Will’s right. What the hell is going on with you two?” He looked down at the stake Buffy still held in her hand. A look of realisation dawned on his face. “Was that a vampire?”

“No, it bloody wasn’t,” Ripper snapped before Buffy could say anything. “Now go back inside, enjoy your soda, play a game of pool, and don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. Am I clear?” He’d got all up in the boy’s face then, and Buffy dragged him back with a disapproving look.

“Maybe we should go, Xander,” the girl- Will- said shakily. She was eyeing Ripper with the look of someone who was really quite frightened.

Ripper saw this, and softened. “Fuck,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. Then, he took a breath. “Look, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said as he tried to stay calm. “But you don’t want to be involved in this.”

“Says who?” Xander asked with a frown, drawing himself up to his full height and still coming up a few inches short compared to Giles.

“Yeah!” Will added, glaring. “_She’s_ involved!” She thrust a finger at Buffy, who looked a little offended.

Ripper sighed. “That’s different.” The two teens looked unconvinced. Shaking his head, he turned to Buffy. “You should get back inside. There might be more-” he cast a glance at the two teens before looking back to Buffy “-uh, _bad guys_.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow at him but went to head back inside anyway. “Really smooth, Ripper,” she told him as she passed him.

Once she was gone, he turned back to the two teens still in the alley.

* * *

“But Willow and I can help!” Xander protested as they followed an annoyed Ripper back inside. 

“With what?” Ripper asked pointedly.

“With, with stuff!” Willow said, coming up on Ripper’s right. She was still surveying him with a slightly nervous look, but she was trying her best to hide it. And damn if she wasn’t persistent.

“You’re just kids, I’m not getting you involved in this.”

“You keep saying that,” Willow said, folding her arms across her chest, “but that other girl’s involved, and we’re no different to her.”

Ripper bit back a snort at that. “Look, you’re a lot different to her, ok? I’m not saying that to be mean, I’m saying it because it’s true. Now if you know what’s good for you, you’ll head home now.”

He stalked off through the Bronze, spotting Buffy scoping out an area not too far away. Behind him, he could hear Willow and Xander, and knew they were following him. Buffy saw them coming, and arched an eyebrow at the two tag-alongs.

“Have you explained everything to them?” she asked Ripper.

“No,” he said petulantly, with just a hint of a pout. “They shouldn’t be here.”

Buffy fixed him with a look. “And yet here they are,” she said dryly. “I have a feeling it’s going to be better for all involved if we just explain everything. At least then they know what they’re getting into.”

Willow and Xander lit up at that, but Ripper quickly stepped in front of Buffy. “This isn’t a good idea,” he told her. “We shouldn’t be getting normal people caught up in this.”

“Normal people always get caught up in this,” Buffy said with a sigh. “It’s how it goes. At least this way we might be able to teach them how to defend themselves. Besides, aren’t you a normal person?”

Ripper floundered at that, and Buffy grinned in triumph. 

“There don’t seem to be any more vamps here tonight, so why don’t we head back to ours and explain everything to the new recruits?”

* * *

Willow and Xander sat side by side on the threadbare sofa, wide-eyed as they processed what they had been told.

“So you fight vampires for a living?” Willow managed after a few moments.

Buffy looked to Ripper for a moment, before looking back to the other girl. “Yeah. It’s not great on the payment front though.” She gave a small smile at that, but nobody returned it.

“And you’re basically a superhero?” Xander asked. “Like, you’ve got special fighting powers and stuff?”

“Slayer powers do include heightened senses and increased fighting skills,” Ripper confirmed gruffly. “But she’s hardly a bleeding superhero.”  
Buffy glared at him. “Hey!”

Ripper responded with a snort. “Well you’re not. So don’t go round wearing capes or jumping off buildings.”

Grumbling to herself, Buffy turned her attention back to the other teens. “Ignore him. I’m not sure Ripper knows how to be happy.”

“Why- why are you called Ripper, anyway?” Willow stuttered, eyeing the man warily. “And why do you live with Buffy?”

Ripper sniffed. “I live with Buffy because neither of us have anywhere else to go. The Council, who are supposed to be in charge of the slayers are a load of useless ponces holed up in London. They know nothing about the world outside of their offices, and Buffy didn’t want them to send her another Watcher to order her around. So I agreed to help her out.” He paused. “As for the other thing, it doesn’t matter.”

Willow didn’t look too happy with that answer, but also didn’t look like she particularly wanted to press Ripper further.

“Ripper was supposed to become a Watcher,” Buffy explained, “but he didn’t want to so he came to LA. And I didn’t want to work for the Council anymore, so we figured this would work for both of us.”

“Cool,” Xander nodded. “So when do we get to start hunting vampires?”

* * *

“They’re going to get themselves killed, you know,” Ripper grumbled as he hurried around the apartment getting ready.

“Who?” Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose as she turned her attention from her magazine.

“Willow and Xander,” Ripper responded, cigarette dangling between his lips as he tied a tie around his neck. “They don’t have the skills you or I do. Even without being trained as a Watcher I have had some martial arts training.”

Buffy blinked at him. “You have?”

Ripper’s face fell. “You didn’t notice? Bloody typical. Yes, I sodding well have. The school I went to since I was thirteen was a council-run preparatory school for Watchers. They taught us how to fight. I mostly used it to get into fights off-campus, but the idea was that by the time we went into Watcher training we already had some fighting skills down.”

“Then why can’t you train Willow and Xander to fight?”

He rolled his eyes and stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray on the table. “Because. I’m no more a teacher than I am a Watcher. I’ve got to go.”

Buffy turned to peer at him over the back of the sofa as he headed for the door. “What’s the job interview for?”

“None of your bloody business,” Ripper growled. He flung the door open and stepped out, slamming it behind him.

With a huff, Buffy turned her attention back to her magazine.

* * *

Ripper arrived home nearly three hours later, and dusk was beginning to fall.

“How did the interview go?” Buffy asked from her position on her yoga mat in the middle of the sitting room.

Ripper sniffed and tugged off his tie. “Fine,” he mumbled. “I got the job.”

At his words, Buffy grinned. “Celebratory dinner!” she announced happily, bouncing off the sofa and making a beeline for the kitchen. “When do you start?”

“Monday,” Ripper said, looking a little uncomfortable. “Look, I know you can handle yourself, but I don’t like the idea of you being home alone all day.”

Buffy arched her eyebrow at him, before pulling some pasta out the cupboard and tipping nearly half the packet into a saucepan. “I’ll be fine. I lived by myself for months, remember?”

Ripper said nothing, but hovered awkwardly in the doorway. “Did you think any more about what I said? About going back to school?”

He saw the moment Buffy tensed. She kept her focus on the pasta she was placing on the stove, rather than looking at him, but he could tell he’d said the wrong thing. But ever since he’d first mentioned it, it had been bugging him. He didn’t like the idea of her giving up on her education.

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug, still not facing him. “What’s the point? And how can I even sign up for school? The Council will find out I’m here, and they’ll send a Watcher to get me.” She turned to Ripper then, eyes wide and worried. “I don’t want that!”

He held his hands up in an attempt to placate her. “Fine. We’ll think about it a little more. But maybe in the meantime you can at least do some studying or something.”

Buffy’s face dropped. “What?” she asked, bewildered. “You’re gonna make me do homework? You’re not my Watcher, you don’t have any control over me!”

“I know that!” Ripper snapped. “I know that, alright? But I don’t want you to throw your life away just because of some sodding destiny! It’s exactly what I did, and now look at me! I didn’t just run from being a Watcher, Buffy, I dropped out of university, I abandoned my family! And even before that, even when I was at school, I was doing my best to cause trouble, to put the Council off recruiting me!” He shoved himself away from the doorframe, paced for a moment just outside the door, before finally stepping inside. “I let the fact I was supposed to become a Watcher dominate my life, Buffy. I let it cloud my judgement. I was so fixated on how to escape that I’m left with few job prospects now I’m out.”

Buffy frowned. The pasta was bubbling away behind her, but she paid it no attention. “But you got the job. You told me you got the job. How can you say you have no prospects?”

Ripper clenched his jaw, looking away for a moment. “I was supposed to become a historian, Buffy. To write papers, or work in a- a museum. Instead I’ve had to take a job as the bloody high school librarian just so I can make sure you won’t go hungry.” 

He scrubbed a hand over his face, Buffy staring up at him with wide, damp eyes.

“If you really want to get away from the Council, I’ll help you, but you’re going to need to be able to pull a life together. There won’t be a Watcher for you to live with, a Council to pay your bills. You don’t want the Council to order you around or tell you what to do, and I get that, I do. But if you want to be independent, if _we’re_ going to be independent from those Council ponces in London, we need to be able to pay our bills.”

“I could go back to waitressing,” Buffy suggested softly. “If we need money-”

“I can afford everything for a while yet,” Ripper told her. “It’s part of the reason I took the job. Bloody Hellmouth apparently means the school’s staff drop like flies. Means they pay a decent amount to try and entice teachers into endangering their lives and living here.” He paused. “And it’s not just about the money. You’re bright, Buffy. Brighter than you realise, I think. At least finish high school. I let Travers and those other bastards ruin my education, but I’m sure as fuck not letting them ruin yours.”

There was a heavy silence. Finally, Buffy nodded.

“Ok. The pasta will be done in about ten minutes, if you want to go get changed.”

Ripper nodded, and made his way up to his room.

* * *

Later on, once dinner had been eaten, and they were sat in silence on the sofa, Ripper realised Buffy was staring.

“What?” he asked gruffly, scowling at her from over the top of a book he was reading.

“You’re really gonna be a _librarian_?” she asked with a hint of a smirk. “Like, big with the tweed and the posh accent and whatever else it is librarians always have?”

Ripper scoffed. “Not bloody likely,” he grunted. “I’d rather be dead.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow at him. “So what? You’re going to turn up in your jeans and t-shirt, with your guitar, and expect to not get fired?”

His jaw clenched and he went back to his book. “I am capable of behaving in a civilised manner,” he muttered after several long moments. “I mean, I got the bloody job, didn’t I?”

“I suppose,” Buffy shrugged, beginning to feel like she’d hit on a bit of a sore spot. “I just can’t imagine you being a librarian.”

Ripper fixed her with a look. “I was supposed to be a Watcher. That’s all tweed and books and posh accents,” he reminded her seriously.

Well. That had Buffy stumped. She sat in silence, pondering everything they’d discussed the last few hours. Then: “I think I _would_ like to finish high school.” 

She said it quietly, almost shyly, and Ripper slowly lowered the book he was reading. “Yeah?” he asked.

“I mean, I don’t really get how we’re gonna manage it,” she responded quickly, “and I don’t want to do anything that would mean the Council could find us. Maybe it’s not even possible-”

“Buffy...”

“But I want to try. I want to at least finish high school.” She gave him a tight smile, eyes slightly damp. “I don’t want to die without having achieved anything, Ripper.”

He gave her a small smile in response. “You won’t, Buffy. We’ll sort something.”

* * *

If there was one thing Ripper hadn’t counted on, it was that working at the high school meant Willow and Xander could bother him not just at night but also during the day. They bounded into the library at lunchtime on Monday- well, Willow bounded, Xander was more dragged- and immediately started bothering him.

“This is _so_ cool! Is Buffy going to come to school too? Oh! I could help her catch up! She can borrow my notes, I’ve got them all colour coordinated-”

“Nice suit, Ripper. Hey- can we call you Ripper? It doesn’t exactly scream ‘librarian’, does it? Do I have to call you sir? Willow said yes, but I think we should get special preference, what with helping you fight vampires and stuff-”

“Xander! We agreed, not to mention the ‘v’ word at school!”

“But Will, it’s only the three of us in here-”

“Are you going to do this every day?” Ripper interrupted with a sigh. Half a day into the job and he wanted to run for the hills. Although maybe that was just what working on top of the Hellmouth was like. He tugged at the tie around his neck and fixed the two teens with a glare. “Do you actually want anything, or are you here to bother me?”

Willow and Xander blinked at one another.

“Why would we _want_ anything?” Xander frowned.

Rolling his eyes, Ripper muttered to himself. Then, raising his voice, he said: “It’s a sodding _library_, Xander. If you’re here, you generally want _books_.”

“Don’t let Principal Snyder hear you talking like that,” Willow told him wisely. “He’s not exactly ‘understanding-man’.”

Before Ripper could find a retort, the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

“Don’t forget we’re coming round later,” Willow said as she shouldered her bag. “You and Buffy are supposed to be training us.”

Biting back a groan, Ripper instead forced a smile. “Can’t wait.”

How the hell had he ended up in this position?


End file.
